Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (Himiona Grace)

Kegedonce Press publisher Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm has been named the recipient of the 2025 Ivy Award.

Akiwenzie-Damm will be presented with the award on Oct. 29 at an event during the upcoming Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA).

The award, now in its 14th year, is granted annually by the International Visitors (IV) Programme in association with TIFA, to someone who has made a substantial contribution to Canadian publishing.

Akiwenzie-Damm – a poet, spoken-word artist, Indigenous arts activist, and assistant professor – is the publisher, art director, senior editor, and founder of Kegedonce Press.

“Kateri’s work exemplifies editorial excellence, literary vision, and a steadfast commitment to amplifying Indigenous voices, and our literary landscape is much richer due to Kateri’s decades-long contribution,” Carolyn Forde, co-chair of the IV committee, said in a press release.

Akiwenzie-Damm was selected by a jury comprised of Toronto Star opinion editor Deborah Dundas, literary agent and IV committee co-chair Carolyn Forde, previous winner and Simon & Schuster Canada publisher Nicole Winstanley, Literary Review of Canada editor Kyle Wyatt, and TIFA artistic director Roland Gulliver.